A Peculiar Wight: The Search
by astridzeogearfried
Summary: Maria has just murdered almost every child in Miss Crowiller's house. Allowing her friends to be kidnapped and the loop to be broken. She has finally killed Caul, breaking his mental grip on her, she is now free. But now she must find her friends before it's too late and with reluctant help from the Brit-Brothers and the Spaniard, Raphael.


My name is Maria Razi Reizend. I was born July 21st, 1926. Raised in Berlin Germany. My parents died in a bombing, we are in the age of World War 2. My parents' peculiarity wasn't able to help them survive except in battle against the monsters. Papa used to tell me stories before I went to bed, they'd always be about his adventures with the Peculiar Children, but unfortunately, he never got to know his Ymbryne very well since she was kidnapped by the monsters not long after his arrival on their island. Their adventures were dangerous and suspenseful and sometimes a little scary. It made me dream of what it'd be like to live in a loop with other children who're like me and understand me. I was rather young when my birth parents died, I was sent to an orphanage and was quickly removed by a married couple, non-Jews. They wanted me to convert so badly and tried their hardest until their frustration with me became abusive. They were almost no better than the Nazi's themselves. I still kept to my religion, I stuck to it tightly like a light in the darkness, holding onto it for as long as possible…. Before it went out. One day, apparently some people on our street spread word about me hiding in the house in the middle of the line of other houses. More like shacks actually. The ironic part about that day was that it was sunny and bright out, and yet I, nor anyone else felt it's warmth. When _they_ burst in, kicking the door down without a knock to begin with. My adoptive parents shoved me forward to save themselves from their awful wrath. I bumped into one of _them_, he was tall, towering over me like some violent, intimidating animal. The men grabbed each of my arms while I barely struggled. I was literally thrown out of the house, down a few stone steps, tripping and twisting my ankle and landing in a muddy puddle with a big splash. I was once again grabbed and brought to my feet then was tossed into a line that was headed for a nearby train. It didn't look exactly like a 5-star quality kind that the rich and even some of the middle-class could afford, no, this looked just mildly less sound than the shacks in my neighborhood. I heard it was used to transport animals, like cows or horses or…. _This can't be right, we're not animals. _I thought as I was ushered in with no question. Everyone around me looked miserable, like they're souls were horribly mistreated. I got off the train the next day and saw what I could only describe as _death. _From then on, I knew what true suffering felt like. Starvation, whipping, shooting, tormenting, burning, and murder. I was only 13 when I got to that dreadful place. I was 16 the day that I was pushed too far. The people that were with me this whole time were beginning to see me as merely dead-weight, not long after was I all of a sudden yanked from my small bed that I shared with one elderly woman and her granddaughter and thrown outside. I collided with the black snow, it felt the exact same way as when I was first yanked out of my old house. At the time, I was growing sick, I was nothing but skin and bones. When _they_ noticed that I couldn't work anymore, I was officially declared useless. One of the men put a gun to my head. Then I heard the clicking sound of the safety being flipped off. I closed my eyes tightly and awaited death to embrace me. But for some odd reason, my left arm started to twitch and shake, I hadn't used my power in a long time, but the feeling felt familiar when it was about to morph into something. The very next thing I knew, I was lying on the no-longer-black nor white-snow. Now both I and the snow all around me was stained completely red with blood. When I was thrown onto the ground and before the gun made contact with my scalp, I had turned my head slightly and noticed a couple kids getting off the newly arrived train. I was told that it was to be addressed as a cattle-car. _Poor kids, they're innocence to this world will soon be taken from them, quickly and brutally. _But when I woke up to that field of blood, I saw the kids surrounding me with awed faces. One of them reached their hand out to me, he didn't seem to mind that it was soaked in blood and yet I still couldn't figure out why. The boy that helped me up nearly fell over from how much strength he put into helping me up when in fact, I was as light as a feather. I finally got a clear shot of my surroundings and was horrified. Bodies, everywhere. The only survivors were those that had stayed indoors in their cramped beds and the kids around me. At least 100 mutilated corpses of _them_ surrounded me. The next thing I heard were people cussing me out in German, they were clearly very afraid and were trying to mask it with anger. One of the girls took my one clean hand and ever so nonchalantly dragged me along with her and the other children. She lead us out of the camp with no one to stop us and we headed for a real train station. The girl then ran to a tollbooth and put in a quarter then started making some random and strange bird calls into the phone. Of course, I was very confused and had no idea how to react. I looked around at the other children and they saw this as an everyday normal thing. I tried to listen in on the conversation but as they talked, some of the trains started up and conductor's whistles blew, completely muting the girl. Not long after the conversation ended and the girl hung up the phone, the announcement for another departure came on. The girl told us that that was our train and we all scrambled to get on as fast as possible. Though we didn't have tickets, then the extraordinary happened. One of the younger girls put her hand on my shoulder and we all started holding hands then...we became invisible. So many questions raced through my mind I didn't have time to ask them all and we quickly hopped on. Once we had found seats in the most hidden spot on the train, it was separated from the rest of the seats by a curtain. I was amazed, it was my first time riding on such a luxurious train, I was told that this was merely a regular middle-class affordable train. The whistle blew not long after we took our seats and then we started moving. I looked out the window and saw the oddest thing, I just couldn't explain it. There was a random shadow on the platform, it was attached to no one, as if it were a being on it's own. I simply wasn't able to make sense of it, so I blamed it on my weariness from all that had happened throughout the first half of the day. I was in disbelief that it was only noon when we made it out of the station. Finally, a little while later into the ride, I began asking questions. I only got vague answers that didn't help much to explain anything. Then one of the boys offered me his jacket since he was already wearing three layers, he didn't say a word. I assumed it was to cover the stains. When I asked _him_ a question, there was a long pause before he answered. It was in spanish. Some of the younger kids turned their heads to look at us, they were surprised to see me nodding at some of his words. I noticed their confusion and decided to explain. "I actually speak 50 languages." Some jaws dropped, others just smiled and nodded approvingly as if I had just passed some kind of test of courage. So for the rest of the ride, the two of us had a long conversation in spanish, but in whisper so that no one could hear us and blow our cover. It took a while before I realized that we were headed for the coast. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, one of the girls tried to explain, but once again, it was in their own mysteriously vague way. The train stopped and it seemed that we were the only ones to have gotten off, there was no station in which we got off, in fact, where we stopped looked like the middle of nowhere. I began asking questions again, forgetting about it's pointlessness and just followed their lead. We walked a long way, during this time, no one said a word, not even the spanish kid. We then came across an average looking puddle. Yet again, I was confused. There were puddles all around us, I even stepped in a couple accidentally. But it seemed that one of the girls had read my mind, apparently the only reason all the kids knew that this puddle was 'supposedly' important was because it was marked. Right beside the puddle was a healthy tulip. This should've been impossible since fall had already passed. All of a sudden, I seemed to know what they were all trying to tell me about this puddle, but all I heard was that it involved diving. It was 30 below zero! Not to mention that it was plain to see that every one of these puddles were clearly no deeper than 1 foot max! While, yes, it was very murky water, that didn't change the fact that we were standing on an almost completely flat plain of land that seemed to run on for miles. And once again, the next thing I knew, left me, once again, in awe. One of the girls, made a gesture as to say 'stand back'. I tried to stop her, thinking that she would've cracked her head open but the minute she hit the water, she dove right through! It was as though the water had completely engulfed her, swallowing her entire body. Then another one of the girls did the exact same thing! It seemed that apparently this was no mere mud puddle, but instead a long pool. A tunnel even. One by one, the kids dove in with no fear, not even a moments hesitation before diving in. Leaving just me and the spanish boy, he had told me that his name was Raphael right at the end of the train ride. He told me in spanish that it was alright, he must've noticed my worried and terrified face. I replied in the same language that he and the rest of the kids were crazy. He then took my hand and walked me to the edge of the puddle. Despite being younger than me, he could still pull me along with ease even while I struggled. Raphael dipped his foot in a bit and after just a couple inches, even though the water was murky and unclear, it was obvious that he had hit solid ground. Then he took his foot out and bent down to put his hand in instead, it went right through and as far as he could reach, his arm went far down under the water. He told me that you had to go arm and head first, otherwise you couldn't go through. I shook my head to say 'no way'. But then he gave me his own example, I knew he was about to dive in next and I panicked, begging him not to leave me alone in this creepy setting while she had this eerie feeling that even if he did leave, she still wasn't alone. The boy dove in anyway. I waited for him to resurface but he didn't. Finally I took a chance and dove in the exact same way everyone else did. I went through, and I kept swimming down, down, down. I kept kicking my legs and moving deeper and deeper as my breath started to weaken and it felt like my lungs were about to burst. I wanted to turn back so badly, but when I looked behind me, back up from where I'd come. I saw that there was no longer any light to return to. Then I felt a hand grab my arm when it reached out again to pull me forward so that I could go down even deeper. The hand pulled me then all of a sudden it felt like the world had turned upside down and I was now moving upward until I, at last, surfaced again. I coughed heavily and started hyperventilating. Upon looking up, there was an old rusty ladder and it felt like I was in some kind of dark tunnel again, like a well. Raphael was standing on a thin ledge and clinging to the wall so he wouldn't fall back into the water, as was the girl who pulled me up. She began climbing up the shaky rusty ladder, confident that it wouldn't break. Raphael gestured toward the ladder, giving off the kind of body language that says 'ladies first'. I hesitantly grabbed one of the handles, it shook and wobbled and I thought for sure it would break off it's hinges as it swung slightly back and forth with each step and pull I made. I noticed that the tunnel had very small holes of light in it, like it was covered by something. When I made it to the top, I felt the cover and discovered it was a heavy iron sewer grate. Fingers then went through and gripped the heavy cover tightly and pulled it up then moved it to the side. It had been a long time since I had seen real sunlight. My skin was so pale, it was practically a milk-shade of white. I looked around me and saw the kids again, completely drenched in sewer water. When I finally got out of the hole completely, I stood up and sighed deeply, taking in all my surroundings at once. The grass was such a bright healthy green like limes. The sky was a beautiful cloudless deep blue. On my right was a forest, it looked as magical as a fairy tale, the trees looked as though it was too good to be true. On my left, was a little village. It too was colorful and bright, it seemed that we were behind one of the buildings, it had fresh-looking pavement around it and a dumpster beside a door labelled "EXIT", the walls seemed freshly painted and the smell of exotic and delicious foods filled my nose. I couldn't have been happier. I even forgot that I was confused. Then the most important question popped into my mind, I was too dumbfounded to ask it when they first appeared before me in the camp.

"So...what're your names?" The girl who had been leading us stepped forward as if presenting herself to royalty. I almost thought that she was gonna bow to me.

"I'm Alice, Alice Richtig." She then shoved the other two girls forward, one had perfect goldilocks and some of it was pulled back with a dark purple bow, she wore a black blazer and a dark purple V-neck matching the color of her bow, as well as a knee-low black skirt with black buckle shoes.

"I'm Ellie." She said formally, just like Alice. The third girl who stood next to Ellie was a couple inches shorter than her. Her hair went down to her shoulders, it laid flat but her bangs were a long, tangled mess. Her face was covered in freckles, her eyes were blue, same as Ellie's, she had on a dark brown corset on over a short sleeve purple shirt, and under that was a long sleeve black shirt. She had a black skirt going to her knees, just like Ellie, gray stockings and light brown, old-looking, scuffed heel boots. She approached me hesitantly.

"My name is Sarah." The two girls looked about the same age, it's possible they grew up together. Then two boys came forward, they had rather smug body language.

"I'm Philip." A boy with dirty blonde, seemingly well-combed hair with a paper boy's gray hat told me. His wool shorts went to his knees, as well as his eggshell white socks and scuffed brown buckle shoes. He had one a white long sleeve collared button-up shirt, his suspenders were mostly hidden by his button up gray vest.

"And I'm Alexander." This boy, surprisingly was a red-head. His hair went just an inch or two past his ears in wavy or loose curls, he had on a plaid paper boy hat and light brown eyes. His socks went to his knees as well, his light brown wool shorts went to his knees just like Philip's. After the introductions, Alice took my hand and started dragging me into the forest.

"I know this may be a bit of a dumb question but...why is it summer here?" Alice turned to look at me as though I had 6 heads, she raised an eyebrow in confusion at my confusion.

"You really haven't guessed yet? We're in a loop!" She told me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I was a bit dumbfounded at that word until I remembered what papa told me in his stories about a loop. It shocked me that I was in one, then that lead to my discovery….

"That must mean that you guys are peculiar as well!" Alice groaned at how idiotic I seemed to be acting and just started to ignore me. When we came out of the forest, my first sight was a gorgeous green field it seemed to be at least one acre in size. There were some very small hills and the grass seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. I bet it must've rained before there. It took all my strength not to run out and start rolling around in it to take in all it's beauty. Then I looked to my right and diagonally from there, far away, I saw a relatively small house. Though it _was_, in fact the biggest house I had ever seen. It's paint job was almost a rainbow with how many colors were mixed in on each side. Not a lot of windows all around and there was a little blue and white porch at the front with a small bench-swing. We all went inside and apparently it was the other kids' first time as well coming to this place too, but their reactions were dull as if this were a common place for them. It was there that I was introduced to the Ymbryne of the loop, Miss Cockatoo. Immaturely I began to chuckle. It was a simple introduction and the bird explained to me more about loops and how they worked, I nodded in understanding and she walked us to our rooms, we had no luggage so it was much easier to get in. She told us about classes during the weekdays at 9 AM, despite that this day will never move forward. The house was but a mere two stories and only held about 15 other children, all of varying ages. The youngest child I noticed must've been at max about 5 or 6. She looked to be about the same height as Ellie and Sarah. After being given a tour, it was time for the evening rain to start. I was told that at precisely 2 PM, there'd be a rain shower. Now the minute I was brought to me room, the bird asked me for my sweater and long skirt. I didn't question it much so I did as instructed. I had on a vanilla colored corset with thick, inch width straps, and my underwear were the typical puffy white cotton shorts, so I was still well covered, though I reeked the awful stench of rotting bodies, dried blood, and nasty sewer water. Figures I'd be escorted to one of the bathrooms. To my surprise, the bathroom wasn't in as good a shape as the rest of the house, the paint and old, dull wallpaper was peeling and while it rained, there were a couple leaks which dropped into a little dark blue pail. I hesitantly turned on the water and patiently waited for the water to fill and warm up. It didn't warm up any hotter than room temperature, which was rather cold. It was as though summer and been switched off, as it poured outside, the outdoors felt freezing, the window provided very little to keep the cold out as it loudly shook, it was dirty and had a few cracks, dust laid over the window sill.

"This isn't all that different from the showers at the camp…, I suppose it must be difficult to keep the water warm while the house is filled with children." I got in and immediately started shivering. I reached my hand for the soap, upon touching it, I felt nothing but a slimy disgusting bar. _How is this supposed to clean anybody?! _I thought, my fingers started turning red, my arms got goosebumps, and I think my toes were beginning to turn blue. I just wanted to get out of that room as quickly as possible. I just gave in and coated myself in the nasty slime called soap and tried and rinse it off as well as I could, but it was nearly impossible to bring myself to sink my whole body down into the ice cold water. The very second I finished, I hopped out of that grimy bathtub and ran to my room, which was much warmer than the water. Dried off and just waited in my room for my clothes to be cleaned and dried and brought here so I can be dressed again…. That was how my first day in my first loop went. That was pretty much how it was every day there. I never enjoyed myself there, but at least I was out of the camp and was protected. A month passed, then a year, and another year, and another. Growing bored and tired more and more, I tried playing with the other kids...but we just couldn't connect and become friends. All I did was sleep and dream of a more interesting life. Then I'd wake up and find that that dream would probably never come to be. The years went on, I got to know Alice and the bunch really well, we became good friends. Eventually Alice and I were closer than sisters, we joked around, messed with each other. This kept me relatively interested in my everyday dull life. I told Alice when my birthday was and so we actually celebrated it every year, even though I could never tell what year it actually was. But then one day, that all changed. My happiness was going to be taken from me again….


End file.
